Home of the week: Whimsical Warmth

If Richard Acton could see his land now, there's no telling what he might think.

In the late 17th century, when Annapolis had about 150 residents, Mr. Acton owned a big chunk of land alongside a creek and cove bearing his name, all in a neighborhood which later would become known as Murray Hill.

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Fast forward to 2008. Mr. Acton's creek is now known as Spa Creek and his land is no longer occupied by what is commonly referred to as the "old hospital." Murray Hill still remains a prosperous neighborhood in which Mr. Acton's land has become a new community of single-family, duplex, town and condominium homes aptly named Acton's Landing.

The 106-home community consists of 79 condos, 14 town houses, 11 single-family homes and two duplexes.

Intermixed with other Homes of the Week over the next month or so, we'll look at more than one home style in Acton's Landing and see if we can conclude what Mr. Acton might think of the community that bears his name.

"I like whimsical things, anything whimsical - I just love that, otherwise the house becomes too stiff," Gail Trabb said of the Acton's Landing single-family home she shares with her husband, Bruce.

That pretty much sums up the theme of the Trabb home, purchased in September 2006. It is indeed pretty whimsical, and it starts right as you enter the door, sometimes even before.

"At Christmastime we have a Santa on the porch," Ms. Trabb explained. "At Easter we have a big, huge rabbit."

We'll get back to the rabbit, but for now let's start with Ludwig, the tuxedo-clad figure sitting at the grand player piano in what the Trabbs refer to as their "music room." Some may be inclined to refer to the space right off the entry to the home as the formal living room, but any whimsical home worth its fanciful weight really deserves a "music room."

Intermixed with the whimsical is a fine collection of crystal, which reappears throughout the home.

"The whole cabinet is all Lalique crystal and so is that table," Ms. Trabb says as she gestures toward a display cabinet and a formidable table. "We've been collecting Lalique for years and Baccarat - it's mostly all French crystal."

This is in what should be the formal dining room, but remember since there's no pretension here, there's no formal dining room.

"My formal dining room is in the storage room," said Ms. Trabb, laughing.

Toward the rear of the home are the kitchen, casual dining area and den. It's an open and comfortable space, with a patio off the back.

With cherry cabinets, granite counters, a stainless steel hood and appliances, the kitchen appears top notch.

"Everything in here is GE Monogram," Mr. Trabb said, referring to GE's top-of-the-line collection. "That's all standard throughout the condos as well."

Next we're off to the sitting room, where another motif appears: Asian furnishings.

"This was my mother's," Ms. Trabb said about an Asian screen in the room. "We have a lot of Oriental in the house."

The two distinctive lamps in the room offer more Asian influence.

"My great-great-grandfather was a ship's captain - he used to go to the Orient and he brought these back," Ms. Trabb explained. "They're bamboo - handmade."

The second floor of the home offers two guest rooms and the master bedroom. The master is a French provincial-style retreat, incorporating pastels and floral patterns. Here numerous crystal perfume bottles have found their ideal surroundings.

A settee at the end of the bed and two plum-colored bergre style chairs are also at home in the room.

Then there's Sir William LaBlanc. The oversized rabbit Ms. Trabb warned us about earlier rests peacefully here in a chair aside the bed, awaiting his spring awakening on the front porch.

"That will startle you at night," Mr. Trabb said.

The third floor of the home offers a room acting as a closet, but this isn't just any closet - this one would make any shoe aficionado quite happy.

"I'm a Blahnik person," Ms. Trabb admits, referring to her weakness for what any shoe-adoring female knows to be the shoe of all shoes: Manolo Blahnik.

Another third-floor room leads to a balcony overlooking the rear of the home. The couple dines here often during warm weather.

"Here's what we like about it," Mr. Trabb said. "You can see the State House, the flag - just the tip of it."

More than that, though, it's offers a great vantage point for fireworks and those annual visitors to the skies above Annapolis.

"The Blue Angels fly right over our house," Ms. Trabb said. "I ducked under the table the first time - I had shivers going right up my spine."

The balcony looks out onto a private park and courtyard for Acton's Landing residents.

Mr. Trabb, a semiretired investment banker, offered his perception of his neighbors and contemporaries.

"Another thing I like about Acton's Landing, most of the people in the houses here tend to be in their 50s or older - middle age," he said. "Who can afford it otherwise? Kids can't."

Yes, these houses do come at a price. The two single-family homes remaining on the market are priced at $1.69 million and $2.25 million.

On the other hand, these homes aren't lacking in attention to detail.

The Trabbs' Colonial Revival home features a gated, wrought iron fence leading up to a front porch, brick exterior, pedimented dormers and a purely decorative second-floor balcony. All this is accentuated by a block modillion course.

With a 3,300-square-foot interior, the house is well proportioned.

The builder seems to have succeeded with incorporating a new community with consistent architectural styling into the established neighborhood of Murray Hill.

"It was really meant to fit into the surrounding neighborhood," said Doug M. Schneiderman, vice president of McLean-based Madison Homes, builder of Acton's Landing. "It's really the Annapolis style."

That Annapolis style is what the led the Trabbs to Acton's Landing, having previously lived in the Baltimore area and downtown Chicago. Though there are no Blahnik sources in town and, yes, we may be more of a deck shoe type of place, Annapolis has its fair share of offerings for the Trabbs.

"What I like about Annapolis is it's close to two major cities, it's close to rail transportation to New York, and Acton's Landing I like because of its proximity to downtown - it's a wonderful proximity to downtown," Mr. Trabb said.

One other thing - there's no denying the climate differences between the Windy City and here, especially for a gardener.

"We can't have pansies in Chicago - not this time of year," Ms. Trabb said. "That's what I like about Annapolis - the weather is so much nicer."

Mr. Acton would likely concur.

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in Annapolis. If you'd like your house considered for "Home of the Week," please contact her at writerdle@aol.com.